It started off like any other evening at home. JT had been at day care all day and his mom picked him up a little bit after 5. Then they went home and then out to take his sister somewhere. Then home again and then out one last time to pick his sister up. Completely normal. The family ate dinner together and then he had orange yummy stuff and purple yummy stuff. He started feeling sleepy and then his mom took him upstairs to get in the bathtub.
He was splashing quietly in the tub while his sister washed her hair and sang some silly song about him. His mom was picking things off the floor and she stopped to come over and play with him. She was making is nose go beep and his ears go honk and she was letting him chew on the blue shark toy when she gently pinched his nose and said “Got your nose.”
JT snapped his head up to look at her. Was she serious? He wrinkled his brow and tried to look and see if she really had his nose. He couldn’t see her hands. They were behind the side of the tub and out of his line of sight. It didn’t feel like his nose had been ripped off. That surely would hurt. He tried crossing his eyes to look at the middle of his face, but couldn’t see anything.
It was baby massage time and then a ridiculous amount of story time. First Maddy read a book then Abbey read a book and then Mommy read a book even though he tried to eat his sisters’ books and then kept throwing Mommy’s book on the floor. And even though they read his favorite rocket ship book he could not stop thinking about his nose. Was it there? Would it grow back if she had taken it off? Would his friends notice it was gone? Would people still talk about his cuteness if he had no nose?
“JT, it is now 90 minutes past your bedtime. What’s the scoop? Time to go to sleep silly boy.” Mommy was patting his back in that way that meant she really needed to go to sleep. He was tired too, but he needed answers about this nose situation. He could feel his eyes getting heavy.
He opened his eyes again and it was dark and he was in his bed. He took a minute to let his eyes adjust to the darkness and then whispered, “Hey, are you guys awake?”
“Yep, just waiting for you dude. It’s always boring in here til you wake up.” Penguin Mirrorbelly was the first to reply.
“Yeah, we get to sleep all day while you guys are gone, unless the cat gets in here in which case we stay awake and pull on his ears when he falls asleep.” Said Green Dinoneck as he stretched his legs and stood up.
JT hesitated. No one seemed to have noticed that his nose was missing, so maybe he shouldn’t bring it up. Then that would be all they talked about.
“JT, who are you talking to in here?” Uh oh, Mommy must have the monitor turned on. She was in here already and scooping him up to go eat.
When JT opened his eyes again he was asleep with Mommy and still kind of eating but not really, and there was no one to talk to. He tried to call out for Fierce Lion head who was laying on the laundry pile, but Mommy head him instead and switched sides so he was too far away to hear any reply from the old gentle lion. Geez, if ever there was night for Mommy to not be such a light sleeper. So he stretched and squirmed and finally Mommy said, “Okay, fine, if you aren’t interested in sleeping here, I’ll just take you back to your room.”
Sweet, it worked.
She laid him down and turned on the noisy fish.
JT, whispered, again, and more quietly than before, “guys, I have a serious problem. I think that my mom took my nose, and I can’t see for myself. So I need you to look and tell me. Is it there?”
Penguin Mirrorbelly stood up and walked over to JT and said, “I have no idea what a nose is, so you’re going to have to look for yourself.”
Green Dinoneck said, “Your nose is the holes in your face where you take in air.” And snorted in their faces to demonstrate where his were.
JT looked in the mirror. He thought that his nose was the sticking out part of his face, which had holes in it, but he also had holes that his eyes were in and then there was the big hole that he used to eat, and he was pretty sure that was his mouth. Now he was worried. He might have lost his nose and he couldn’t be sure because he didn’t even know what a nose was.
And suddenly there was Mommy again, dang it, how did she sneak up on him. She gave him the pacifier and disappeared again.
He looked in the mirror and clasped and unclasped his hands. There was only one thing left to do. Ask Dumbo. Dumbo was an old toy of his oldest sister. He had seen everything and surely would be able to tell him for sure if he was destined for life as a noseless wonder.
“Dumbo, Dumbo, wake up. This is really important.” JT whispered as loudly as he dared.
“I can hear you, you don’t have to shout. I heard the whole silly conversation. This is a game grown ups play. They think they’re hilarious perpetrating this ruse on innocents. It will most likely continue on well past when you can walk and talk. Older people play it much longer than others, but can’t seem to get enough of the silliness. Your face is fine and intact.” The old elephant closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
JT and his friends cheered, but their celebration was short lived because Mommy showed up and picked up JT again, muttering under her breath about not needing sleep, and who needed sleep, and sure she’d love to get up again. Like anyone asked her to come and interrupt them in the middle of the night.
He was splashing quietly in the tub while his sister washed her hair and sang some silly song about him. His mom was picking things off the floor and she stopped to come over and play with him. She was making is nose go beep and his ears go honk and she was letting him chew on the blue shark toy when she gently pinched his nose and said “Got your nose.”
JT snapped his head up to look at her. Was she serious? He wrinkled his brow and tried to look and see if she really had his nose. He couldn’t see her hands. They were behind the side of the tub and out of his line of sight. It didn’t feel like his nose had been ripped off. That surely would hurt. He tried crossing his eyes to look at the middle of his face, but couldn’t see anything.
It was baby massage time and then a ridiculous amount of story time. First Maddy read a book then Abbey read a book and then Mommy read a book even though he tried to eat his sisters’ books and then kept throwing Mommy’s book on the floor. And even though they read his favorite rocket ship book he could not stop thinking about his nose. Was it there? Would it grow back if she had taken it off? Would his friends notice it was gone? Would people still talk about his cuteness if he had no nose?
“JT, it is now 90 minutes past your bedtime. What’s the scoop? Time to go to sleep silly boy.” Mommy was patting his back in that way that meant she really needed to go to sleep. He was tired too, but he needed answers about this nose situation. He could feel his eyes getting heavy.
He opened his eyes again and it was dark and he was in his bed. He took a minute to let his eyes adjust to the darkness and then whispered, “Hey, are you guys awake?”
“Yep, just waiting for you dude. It’s always boring in here til you wake up.” Penguin Mirrorbelly was the first to reply.
“Yeah, we get to sleep all day while you guys are gone, unless the cat gets in here in which case we stay awake and pull on his ears when he falls asleep.” Said Green Dinoneck as he stretched his legs and stood up.
JT hesitated. No one seemed to have noticed that his nose was missing, so maybe he shouldn’t bring it up. Then that would be all they talked about.
“JT, who are you talking to in here?” Uh oh, Mommy must have the monitor turned on. She was in here already and scooping him up to go eat.
When JT opened his eyes again he was asleep with Mommy and still kind of eating but not really, and there was no one to talk to. He tried to call out for Fierce Lion head who was laying on the laundry pile, but Mommy head him instead and switched sides so he was too far away to hear any reply from the old gentle lion. Geez, if ever there was night for Mommy to not be such a light sleeper. So he stretched and squirmed and finally Mommy said, “Okay, fine, if you aren’t interested in sleeping here, I’ll just take you back to your room.”
Sweet, it worked.
She laid him down and turned on the noisy fish.
JT, whispered, again, and more quietly than before, “guys, I have a serious problem. I think that my mom took my nose, and I can’t see for myself. So I need you to look and tell me. Is it there?”
Penguin Mirrorbelly stood up and walked over to JT and said, “I have no idea what a nose is, so you’re going to have to look for yourself.”
Green Dinoneck said, “Your nose is the holes in your face where you take in air.” And snorted in their faces to demonstrate where his were.
JT looked in the mirror. He thought that his nose was the sticking out part of his face, which had holes in it, but he also had holes that his eyes were in and then there was the big hole that he used to eat, and he was pretty sure that was his mouth. Now he was worried. He might have lost his nose and he couldn’t be sure because he didn’t even know what a nose was.
And suddenly there was Mommy again, dang it, how did she sneak up on him. She gave him the pacifier and disappeared again.
He looked in the mirror and clasped and unclasped his hands. There was only one thing left to do. Ask Dumbo. Dumbo was an old toy of his oldest sister. He had seen everything and surely would be able to tell him for sure if he was destined for life as a noseless wonder.
“Dumbo, Dumbo, wake up. This is really important.” JT whispered as loudly as he dared.
“I can hear you, you don’t have to shout. I heard the whole silly conversation. This is a game grown ups play. They think they’re hilarious perpetrating this ruse on innocents. It will most likely continue on well past when you can walk and talk. Older people play it much longer than others, but can’t seem to get enough of the silliness. Your face is fine and intact.” The old elephant closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
JT and his friends cheered, but their celebration was short lived because Mommy showed up and picked up JT again, muttering under her breath about not needing sleep, and who needed sleep, and sure she’d love to get up again. Like anyone asked her to come and interrupt them in the middle of the night.
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